well, it is official; dvc is a timeshare

[disneynutz]

My rep told me I had to decide before I left Disney to get the incentive.

I ended up buying resale.

Disney will do what ever it takes to make a sale. Your Guide will say things like, "I have to see if I can get permission from my manager", or "we can only offer this deal for (insert a time here).

The best one is set a inflated price, then reduce the price to make people feel like they are getting a deal. $112 per point, with $8 off per point.

We purchased some points several years ago during "friends and family". We told our Guide that we didn't know any members so we couldn't get the special referral price. He said, "no problem, I will get you someones name".

 

[LIFERBABE]

I received the email and I agree with Bobbi. 2 years ago, people were paying Value Resort prices and being upgraded to SSR 1 bedrooms for free. Many here were upset about that.

This seems aimed more at the Moderate Resort customer which is more likely to purchase DVC based on what they are already paying. Mods can go for $150 and up so for $30-$50 more and a tour, these customers will be able to upgrade to a 1 bed Villa.

At least DVC is requiring compensation this time whether it be this offer or a PIN Code.

Upgrading someone that paid $79 a night to a 1 bed Villa during Free Dining to boot, devalued their rep and product much more than this offer.

It's a slower time for the parks and resorts and they need to keep the door swinging with all the points they have to move.

Oh and Cheezy/Sleazy was my last DVC Member Cruise 2007 (and I do mean last) when we ported at Castaway Cay at 6:30 a.m. but they did not open the gangway until 10am to ensure we all attended their Cheezy "game show" sales presentation. It was awful and a whole bunch of unhappy members on that one!

 

[DeeCee735]

It's September.....one of the slowest months of the year there. I'm not at all surprised or upset by this. They aren't giving away anything. They are trying to book up their rooms and keep the influx into the resorts and mostly into the parks at a high capacity. How many places don't offer discounted rates or specials, especially in this economy, especially in September??
In comparison to other timeshare places, this doesn't seem to be at all a "sleezy timeshare thing". DVC is a timeshare, albeit an innovative and unprecendented (at the time it began anyway) timeshare, but a timeshare still. There are timeshare resorts in the Orlando area that are renting for close to nothing, and selling on resale for close to nothing. I think DVC is still upholding its standards.
As for a "pushy" guide, that can easily be remedied. Just tell them you cannot be pushed into a decision, especially in this economy, and ask what can be done to give you more time. I bet you'd get a positive response because the guides want the sales.

I just think with all the other offers we've seen come and go, and especially since this is basically a September offer, it isn't surprising or a bad thing.

Now...I'm very curious about that $17off at BLT. Meaning it's $95 a point?
That's less than my $96 per point add on that I did at AKV last year

 

[tjkraz]

Upgrading someone that paid $79 a night to a 1 bed Villa during Free Dining to boot, devalued their rep and product much more than this offer.

That struck me as being particularly insightful.

I understand the fear that this is another step down a dangerous road. But I'm reluctant to put the proverbial cart before the horse.

Faced with slow sales and empty villa rooms, the alternative would appear to be staff reductions at DVC, reexamining of other projects in the pipeline and even further cutbacks at the theme parks (fewer hours, hiring freeze, etc.) Abuse DVC management all you wish but there's nothing they could have done to foreshadow our current economic state or prevent themselves from being impacted.

Putting folks in those villas AND making them potential customers for DVC seems like a win/win to me. Worry about other changes to DVC when they occur.

 

[DVCGeek]

We took the tour August of 2008 while on vacation. We were told that we had to make a decison before our vacation was finished.

That is what we were told as well in late Oct. 2008. I called and left my guide a VM on the day we were leaving right before we checked out of All Star Movies saying we were in and to FedEx the paperwork! And that was only for $5 off pp. But, I did get retroactive DPs for my 160 points so it turned out to be pretty sweet for us. Deals are better now, but what can you do?

 

[HM]

Doesn't bother me in the least. Reminds me of the way Marriott does it and they are also very low-key on the sales push.

 

[bwvBound]

So was that an official promotion? Do you know when it was going on? And do they definitely not do it anymore?

Yes, it was an official promotion -- I think the time period was near 2002. We didn't buy when it was offered and it was gone when we were "ready to sign" on our following visit. I haven't seen that promotion since -- but am now out of the loop by not paying cash for our stays.

 

[Rileygirl]

FYI

On the resorts boards, there are some very excited people -- they booked value for this fall and have been given 'pin codes' to upgrade (for free) to SSR or OKW, and are asking questions about this.

I have not seen anyone mention a 'mandatory' DVC presentation that have recieved this pin code though....

 

[savannahcat]

It's not just you--that used to be the standard "hook" used after taking an on-site tour. But I'd say within the last 12-18 months reports of this 3-day incentive period have all but vanished. Every so often I'll see one, but it's pretty rare.

We took the tour just last week and were given the 72 hour deadline on the incentive. After doing more research, we've decided to buy resale. Of course, the guide told me lots of horror stories about stripped contracts, etc. I just nodded and smiled. We'd like to be able to stay some nights during the summer at BCV and don't want to deal with the waitlist, so it only makes sense to own some points there and then add on BLT later if we decide to.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

I guess I'm not sure how this is different than the "discounted" price we got on a studio at OKW the first time we took the DVC tour. I might add that it was 1995, and our then guide got us the "discounted" rate for OKW if we would take the tour. How is that all that different from the current "discount offer"?

To me it seems a bit different to offer a discount up front with a catch... You must take a timeshare tour.

I'm sorta waffling here. I corrected myself and said I don't mind the cheaper room thing, but the catch of having to take a tour is sounding a bit low...

Just my opinion,
MG

 

[Anal Annie]

Personally, I would rather see my friends & family get the best deal possible and that does not include buying direct any more in this economy.

My cousin and her husband watched that BLT webinar thing they did last month and then she contacted me again for our guides phone number. So I gave it to her but I also pointed her to the Timeshare Store for a resale and told her how to decpiher the listings to be sure she didn't look at something that was stripped of its value. Their contract that they found & bid on just passed yesterday for like about $6K less than what it would've cost them to buy direct.

So for me, if I have anybody ask me about buying DVC, as long as DVC is letting contracts at SSR pass for the low $70's / point why would I push them toward buying direct? They are people I LIKE!! I want to hook them up for the best deal possible...forget their $200 incentive that we might be eligible for. That's nothing!! I am glad my cousin found this incredible deal but it's irritating me that DVC's asking price to buy direct is so much higher. Back whenever we bought, the resale price and the direct price were in line with each other...

So IMO they can offer whatever deal they want - I'm still gonna point people to the best bottom line they can find.

 

[gkrykewy]

FYI

On the resorts boards, there are some very excited people -- they booked value for this fall and have been given 'pin codes' to upgrade (for free) to SSR or OKW, and are asking questions about this.

I have not seen anyone mention a 'mandatory' DVC presentation that have recieved this pin code though....

Wow, so they're doing it again! You should make a new thread - I bet you can get 50 pages out of it

 

[La2kw]

I see this as a continuation of DVC just becoming less special and more like any other timeshare. This doesn't bother me as much as the point reallocation pushing members towards weeklong stays does.

I remember staying at OKW in 1994 during our first trip and them giving us a rate of $199/night plus $100 in free groceries just to stay there and check out the resort. Of course, it worked and we bought points right away.

We made the mistake of doing the "Vacation as You Wish" presentation a few days ago, just so we could check out the BLT rooms. The presentation lasted 90 minutes and was a rehash of pretty much everything most members already know from reading the member site or their outdated planners. The one saving grace was the acapella singers and the dessert party. Everything else felt like a hard sell as we were seated in front of a stage and forced to listen to their gibberish for 90 minutes before getting to the dessert party and tour of BLT. It was very unlike any other member even we have done and very much like a hard sell. I was disappointed to see DVC stoop to this level. Of course, we could have walked out at any minute, but DVC knew we were really there to check out the models and most of us ended up sticking it out.

 

[littlestar]

This doesn't surprise me that they need to do this. The economy is so spooky right now. A lot of people I know that have had pretty secure jobs in insurance and medical fields are really, really nervous about what's going to happen to their jobs if congress rushes through health care changes without being careful.

DVC is probably trying to keep from having to lay off staff.

 

[liznboys]

Yes, it was an official promotion -- I think the time period was near 2002. We didn't buy when it was offered and it was gone when we were "ready to sign" on our following visit. I haven't seen that promotion since -- but am now out of the loop by not paying cash for our stays.

Gotcha, thanks.

 

[DisneyQueen1320]

Quote:
Originally Posted by bobbiwoz
Bobbi

PS. I think those of us who can still go to WDW are the lucky ones. This economy is hurting lots of folks. Cape May county NJ had many fewer tourists last week than I've ever seen in a beautiful July week. I'm more worried about the economy than I am about DVC sales promotions.


Double

 

[gkrykewy]

This doesn't surprise me that they need to do this. The economy is so spooky right now. A lot of people I know that have had pretty secure jobs in insurance and medical fields are really, really nervous about what's going to happen to their jobs if congress rushes through health care changes without being careful.

DVC is probably trying to keep from having to lay off staff.

On the other hand, companies are cutting coverage and benefits left and right, and that can't help those in the health insurance field either.

Yeah, the economy... not so good.

 

[Deb & Bill]

So was that an official promotion? Do you know when it was going on? And do they definitely not do it anymore?

I have friends paying (a nice chunk of) cash to stay in a BLT 1 bedroom this Christmas, and they've also expressed interest in DVC. I was thinking it would be great if they could do their trip and then apply the cost of it towards a new DVC purchase if they decide to buy.

We got that offer when we bought in 1997. We were staying at the Polynesian and did the tour after watching it on TV. We ultimately paid $50 a point for our first 175 points at OKW.

 

[ckdsnynt]

Yep, I got this email yesterday.

 

[ckdsnynt]

having just been to the BLT "presentation" I have to say I was pretty well horrified at how cheezy it was. A clever racket for gathering marketing research material, but REALLY obnoxious. I can only fathom how awful a typical timeshare pitch must be - YIKES!

We took the BLT tour in May and we didn't think it was highpressure or chezzy at all! Not saying your experience wasn't. Maybe it was the guide/salesperson assigned? Or maybe it was the fact that we had already made up ourminds that we were going to purchase BLT DVC membership.